FiLIP 2 smartwatch for children arrives on AT&T

Your kids may be too young to put a Moto 360 or Pebble on their wrists, but that doesn’t mean they’ll have to go without a smartwatch. AT&T is now selling the FiLIP 2, an upgraded version of last year’s hybrid kid locator and wrist-worn phone. The new version is easier for parents to set up through mobile apps and better suited to real-world use.

Will Santa stuff children’s stockings with smartwatches this holiday season? That’s the hope for Filip Technologies which is today launching its FiLIP 2 smartwatch for kids at AT&T stores and online at ATT.com for the discounted launch price of $99.99. The watch, which is essentially a small smartphone strapped to the wrist, is one of the first “wearables” aimed at kids to hit mass production. The company previously offered an earlier version of this same device, just called the FiLIP. The watch is enormous, which, though I don’t have one yet to test with my own child, looks like it could become uncomfortable to wear after some time on little wrists. But strapping something onto a child makes more sense than asking them to remember to carry around a phone – kids often forget and lose things, so a wearable item at least addresses that problem.